Boys in the Band

Gyu Hwan stared through the tinted window of his father’s car in silence as it cruised through the near empty street of Nambusunhwan-ro highway. Where Hwan was from, the buildings never seemed to touch the sky the way they did here, the air was cleaner and traffic wasn’t such a nightmare. He sighed under his breath, rubbing his fingers together nervously.

“Hwan, are you alright, my son. You don’t seem happy to be here,” his father commented quietly, looking at him through the rear view mirror.

“Huh? Oh, abeoji, I’m fine,” he replied, brandishing a smile that exposed how nervous he really was.

“It’s just a transfer, son. I promise it will be just like your old school.”

Hwan’s fake façade of a smile fell through at the sound of that. He couldn’t put off the odd feeling that this was going to be nothing like his old college. This was University after all, and his father was not anything like the rest he has met. While the others wanted their sons and daughters to become doctors and lawyers, Hwan’s father was perfectly fine with him pursuing his musical dreams and had immediately pulled him out of law school to pursue it. He should be elated about it, but the gnawing feeling refused to go away. As an omega, this was going to be even more difficult on him, as he was not a part of a pack anymore and will more than likely be preyed upon if there are any of his kind at his new school, which he highly doubted. Luck and himself were common enemies.

“Son, I want you to promise me something.”

Hwan looked up from his fidgeting fingers, curiosity creasing his face. “Oh?”

“I’m a lonely man, son. Ever since the passing of your mother, I’ve been alone…and I can assure you, it gets to you after a time. I don’t want that for you. So make me a promise, that you will find a pack while you are here. Someone you can rely on.”

“Appa, wait...” Hwan shook his head in total disbelief. “You can’t possibly think I’d find a pack here in Seol. We’re outcasts, remember? No one wants us…” his voice trailed off as he leaned back into his seat, his brows furrowed.

“I’m aware.”

He suddenly realized that his father seemed much older now, more tired. His wrinkles were nearly invisible, except for the faintest imagery of crow’s feet at the edges of his eyes when he smiled. Had his mother’s death taken such a toll on him now that he was losing himself? Hwan sighed and returned his gaze to the window.

“I promise.”

The university was large as if it were a town to itself. His father led him to the administrative office where a middle-aged woman with overly dyed blonde hair was scrolling out of sheer boredom on her phone. She perked up as soon as Mr. Gyu cleared his throat to get her attention. Hwan was disgusted at how she poured on the sickening sweetness of her charm on his father as they completed his admission and handed him a dorm room key and a small parcel of other school based items.

“Well, you have a roommate, that’s a start,” his father pat him on the back as he lead him towards the staircase leading up to his room.

“Appa, please.”

“What? Can I not have some hope that you will turn out differently?”

Hwan shot him a stare of pure lament. “Be gone.”

Mr. Gyu waved goodbye to him with a chuckle, leaving him standing there with two heavy suitcases and a brown package. The smell of wolves was quite strong. There couldn’t be more than three different packs here and not a single omega that wasn’t him. He released a breath, very unprepared for the chaos that was set to rain down on him as soon as the others become aware of his existence in their space. Hwan hated elevators and would probably die from an extreme panic attack if he ever set foot in another one, so he challenged himself and took the stairs, very aware that his dorm room was on the seventh floor. It took him a solid hour to climb them, visibly manhandling his suitcases until he got there and then had to spend another five searching for his door number. They were in Korean and his wasn’t nearly so great. He suddenly regretted not counting all the way up to a hundred while learning the language, as it was his ethnicity, just not where he was born. By the time he figured it out, his blonde hair was sticking to his sweaty forehead and neck. After opening the door, he wanted to land on a bed and rest, which he did eventually. The covers were quite thick and soft. The smell of it was intoxicating and he just couldn’t get himself to get up after falling into it.

Ree Kyung scrubbed the mud from his raven black hair in anger, very much enraged that his game today had ended with him face planted in the mud, his hair taking the brunt of the mess. By the time he had rinsed the soap from his head, he could feel his scalp burning from his aggressive scrubbing. Perhaps, he had scrubbed a bit too much. Turning off the shower, he reached for a towel and wrapped it around his waist then for a smaller one, tossing it onto his head to keep the droplets of water from falling to the floor and making an even bigger mess. As he reached for the door, Kyung stopped in his tracks, his hand still shadowing the handle. What the hell was that smell? It was...delicious, pulling at his inner wolf. He closed his eyes and took in the scent of the intruder; sweet, unpredictable, alone, not human. He had specifically told the admin that he didn’t want a roommate for reasons he preferred not to share, and they went ahead and tossed a bloody omega at him. He should have known that his authority would be breached in the human world. Swinging the door open, he stepped out of the steam that had filled his room due to his shower and glared at the body laying down on his bed.

“Why the fuck are you on my bed,” he growled, pulling the towel from his head and swinging it over his shoulder.

The stranger shot up, almost landing on the floor as he got to his feet.

“S-sorry, I…I thought…I didn’t know. I’m sorry.” He fell over his words as he tried to straighten the covers. “I guess I got tired and…”

“Why are you even in here?”

“It was the room I was assigned, dimwit,” Hwan fired at him in frustration after the initial shock has passed. Not the best way to make friends, but he could smell the alpha oozing off of him. Great, not only did he have to share rooms with a grumpy, rude idiot, but he was also the leader of a dangerous pack of wolves that he would prefer not to meet. He and alphas were sworn enemies. And already, this one was getting on his nerves.

Kyung took the time to observe his new unwanted roommate who strolled right pass him and towards the empty bed that was cleaned off by someone, he couldn’t figure out when. He had tall blond hair, fringed bangs that covered his eyebrows, freckles and a pouty mouth. He wasn’t all that short but he was shorter than he was by about two inches or more. He’d never met a fiery omega before. They were always so quiet and accepting.

“You better keep to your side, shrimp,” Kyung turned away from him and headed towards the closet where he retrieved a pair of gray sweatpants and slipped them on under his towel. Hwan’s face burned, flustered from staring a bit too long at his muscled, chiseled body, still glimmering from his shower. As he unpacked his suitcases, he did his best to avoid staring at the paragon of male fitness. He couldn’t believe he had already made an enemy and he was only here for a few hours. It took him quite some time to set up his side of the room, placing his architectural devices on his desk, being as he did a little side job for his father’s company whenever the old man needed a break from his responsibilities. The staff were probably told beforehand not to call him until he was settled down in university, hence the lack of traffic on his phone. Once he completed his setup, he was drawn to the door by a curt knock. The lady from admin stood out there with a disturbing grin on her makeup caked face.

“Mr. Gyu asked me to hand this over to you,” she says sweetly, holding a single car key and its remote out to him. His expression dropped to a frown as he grabbed it and slammed the door in her face. Was she trying to suck up to him to earn brownie points for his dad? Disgusting. He shivered from the thought of having her as a stepmother, almost forgetting that there was a dark and dangerous alpha in the room and slamming face first into the broad hardness of his back. He felt himself falling but the floor never greeted him. Opening his eyes, Hwan’s face became beet red, flustered from the compromising position he had gotten himself in. Kyung stared into his eyes in silence, his blushing freckled cheeks, his pouty lips, and set him upright on his feet.

“Watch where you are going, babo.”

Hwan grabbed a towel and locked himself in the bathroom, his back to the cold, wooden door. What the hell was all of that? His first day in Uni was not promising at all. He groaned as he slid down the door and to the floor, staring at the spacious bathroom of white tiles and enough lights to accommodate a stadium. There was a possibility he was not going to make it to the end of the school year, at least, not with his clear hatred and attraction for the daring alpha. He tied his hair into a bun and stripped himself of clothing, heading straight for the glassed in shower, which still held some fog.

Kyung stared at his bed in silence, remembering how the young omega was just lying there sprawled and unaware of the dangers of messing with an alpha. A groan escaped him as he realized that the scent of the omega was all over his sheets, tugging at him. Aggressively, he pulled the blanket from the bed and tossed it into the laundry basket he kept by the closet, placing a new one on it, one that reeked of him rather than a rebellious outcast. The year was going to be festive…

Because this was the weekend, and normally, he’d find something constructive to do with his time, today, he had to get out of there and decided to visit the gym instead of being in a closed space with him. Grabbing his gym bag, Kyung tossed on a pair of running sneakers and an oversized tank before heading out.

Hwan was very relieved to hear him leave and quickly dried himself inside the bathroom before heading to the closet where he’d already hung his uniforms and folded his other clothes. He froze in place hearing the door open and almost died of embarrassment hearing the low, rumbling exclamation of his roommate before he slowly backed out of the room, more than likely traumatized after seeing his roommate naked.

“I ought to be shot,” Hwan mumbled to himself, hurriedly trying to put on a pair of boxers. Festive indeed…